McDougall Diet

A board to discuss various diet-centered approaches to treating or controlling Multiple Sclerosis, e.g., the Swank Diet
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QTKT
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McDougall Diet

Post by QTKT »

Has anyone ever heard of the McDougall Diet? It is kind of like the Swank Diet, but a little different.

This particular diet excludes:
- meat
- dairy
- eggs
- white/refined flour, rice, sugar
- coconut
- processed foods
- coffee
- vegetable oils
- a few other things

It focuses on a low-fat, whole-foods, plant-based diet; including:
- fruits
- vegetables
- grains
- legumes
- nuts/seeds

You can read more about it at: https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... roduction/

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on or experience with the McDougall diet? Thanks for your input.
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NHE
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Re: McDougall Diet

Post by NHE »

Getting rid of sugar, processed food, white flour and starchy grains, e.g., white rice and white potato are great ideas. However, one should exercise caution before going on a largely vegetarian diet as some vitamins are only available from animal products. One of these is vitamin B12 and vegetarian diets can deplete the body's stores of B12 over time leading to a deficiency. A B12 deficiency can cause neurological damage that mimics MS in many ways. Cleaning up the diet is great, but keep the B12. You may wish to read the following topic for more information. http://www.thisisms.com/forum/natural-a ... 24857.html
ElliotB
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Re: McDougall Diet

Post by ElliotB »

There are many diets recommended for MS and they all seem to work for some but not all.

Do your research on the various diets and then pick one that fits your lifestyle best and that you feel will work best for you based on your research.




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NHE
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Re: McDougall Diet

Post by NHE »

QTKT, here's something that may be of interest for you. Dr. Joel Fuhrman recommends a diet rich in micronutrients. He has ranked foods based on their micronutrient content establishing a nutrient gradient index. The goal with his diet is to eat more foods from the top of the list and fewer foods from the bottom. The following post has links to two of his videos. http://www.thisisms.com/forum/post222562.html#p222562
ElliotB
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Re: McDougall Diet

Post by ElliotB »

Why would Potato Chips, French Fries, Vanilla Ice Cream and Cola be on any nutritional list?

FWIW, something you always see on 'nutritional' lists is certain fish species high in good fish oils, yet only wild caught fish are high in these beneficial oils (farm raised fish are not). This important factor is never mentioned. Also, grass fed meats, which are just as beneficial to wild caught fish when it comes to good fats, and are never listed as being beneficial and not recommended/included.

Another thing to consider that I have mentioned on this site before, diets such as the Swank and McDougall diets (typically low in fats) are not necessarily any more effective (and may be perhaps less effective) as diets that take a totally opposite approach to nutrition, such as the Wahls diet which is a high GOOD FAT diet (fats coming from wild caught fish and grass fed meats).

One more consideration, consuming large amounts of veggies, whether they are conventional or organic, means you are consuming pesticides. Leafy veggies such as Kale and Spinach are the worst offenders when it comes to this condition.

The bottom line is that when it comes to nutrition, no one knows for sure what is best (unfortunately).
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lyndacarol
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Re: McDougall Diet

Post by lyndacarol »

ElliotB wrote:FWIW, something you always see on 'nutritional' lists is certain fish species high in good fish oils, yet only wild caught fish are high in these beneficial oils (farm raised fish are not). This important factor is never mentioned. Also, grass fed meats, which are just as beneficial to wild caught fish when it comes to good fats, and are never listed as being beneficial and not recommended/included.
There is not only a difference in the quality of fats, but there is a difference in nutritional value when it comes to vitamin D (per Holick):


An Evaluation of the Vitamin D3 Content in Fish: Is the Vitamin D Content Adequate to Satisfy the Dietary Requirement for Vitamin D? (2007)
Z. Lu, T.C. Chen, A. Zhang, K.S. Persons, N. Kohn, R. Berkowitz,* S. Martinello,* and M.F. Holick
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17267210

Abstract
It has been suggested that the major source of vitamin D should come from dietary sources and not sun exposure. However, the major fortified dietary source of vitamin D is milk which often doesn’t contain at least 80% of what is stated on the label. Fish has been touted as an excellent source of vitamin D especially oily fish including salmon and mackerel. Little is known about the effect of various cooking conditions on the vitamin D content in fish. We initiated a study and evaluated the vitamin D content in several species of fish and also evaluated the effect of baking and frying on the vitamin D content. Surprisingly, farmed salmon had approximately 25% of the vitamin D content as wild salmon had. The vitamin D content in fish varied widely even within species. These data suggest that the tables that list the vitamin D content are out-of-date and need to be re-evaluated.
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NHE
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Re: McDougall Diet

Post by NHE »

ElliotB wrote:Why would Potato Chips, French Fries, Vanilla Ice Cream and Cola be on any nutritional list?
Well, they are listed with negative values. I think the point Fuhrman is making is pretty clear, these food items aren't good for you.
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